Invisible
by ShinigamiDeathscytheSan
Summary: Duo pulls a major prank on Heero, only this 'prank' is nothing like it seems. Angsty Heero-sufferitis, eventual Yaoi.
1. Prologue

**i'm really disappointed in this fic.**

**really really.**

**i dont think i got the whole idea that inspired the story across very well, but its good enough. i really needed something to get me going again, and i think this did it... i hope, at least.**

**but anyways, enjoy... **

**Heero POV**

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Invisible

Prologue

It was a brutal battle.

Me against at least a dozen mobile dolls.

I knew Wing ZERO could handle it, and I knew I'd defeat them—failure wasn't an option—just it was hell getting to the end of the fight.

Wielding my beam saber and shield, I spun on my heel to slice down yet another Taurus.

I hardly had time to brace myself as a blast from behind knocked my Gundam to the ground, taking several tall, ancient trees with it.

I was up in an instant, refusing to give the enemy even the slightest chance.

I could see sparks flying through the sides of the monitors before me; Wing ZERO was in worse shape than I had thought. I'd have to end this battle soon...

With a cry, I stabbed my pointed shield into a mobile doll, slicing through another with my beam saber a moment later. This was hell. I should've brought Duo with me on this mission. I hadn't known I would've been so outnumbered. I hadn't known it would've been this dangerous.

Okay.

Stay calm.

Seven down, five to go.

Almost mission complete.

Eight down, four to go.

I was on the ground again as the last four mobile dolls ganged up on me. But I managed to rise and destroy one of them.

Three more.

I can do this.

I cannot fail. I _will_ not fail. Mission failure means suicide, and I can't die yet.

I jumped back to create some distance between me and my enemies, before racing forward, ready to strike.

The Taurus fell in a shower of sparks and smoke.

One of the last two—I didn't know which—managed to land a hit directly at the torso of my Wing ZERO, and if it wasn't for the heavily reinforced Gundanium armor there, I would've been obliterated. Nonetheless, my Gundam's cockpit suffered heavy damage. The monitors went static for several moments, before flickering back on to reveal cracked screens and low-power signals. I'd need to do some serious repairs... and I'd need serious medical attention once I made it out of here...

I shakily rose, Wing ZERO threatening to give out.

But I finally managed to take down the last two mobile dolls.

The battle was finally over...

Suddenly, the sensors of my Gundam went ballistic, alerting me to some unknown danger.

Through a bit of a daze, I spun around, scanning my surroundings in shock.

All the fallen mobile dolls were flashing, beeping, signaling a self-destruct.

Shit.

There was a soundless, white flash before I felt myself, my Gundam, crashing to the ground, my body screaming. Something hit me in the head, hard, and I could distantly feel hot blood already oozing from the wound.

And then there was nothing.

Black, endless nothing.

And I knew this was my end.

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**yeah. *grumpy voice* well, chapter 1 of 4 comes tomorrow, so if you like this, please check it out. **

**one of the two drabbles i have is coming along quite nicely... finally some duosufferitis... heero's been gettin all the love lately XD mwuahaha. sa anyways, stay tuned!**

**jaa!**


	2. First Signs

**ha! so, like thank you guys so much for all those alerts already :D but some reviews would be greatly appreciated... **

**i'm still not too crazy about this fic, but if you guys like it, that's good.**

**neways, here's ch 1. enjoy!**

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Chapter 1

First Signs

My body felt as if it was lost in a ghostly haze as I finally came to.

I let out an involuntary groan as I opened my eyes, staring up and trying to remember why it hurt so bad.

Slowly, sluggishly, I reached up to reboot my Gundam. It took a while, but eventually the systems managed to bring themselves back online.

The monitors flickered to life, and for a moment I wondered if they were broken because everything was pitch black. Night had fallen. I must've been unconscious for a long time.

I forced my Gundam to sit up as I put my hand to my head, finding the entire left side of it covered in blood. I heaved a sigh.

I dazedly made sure I still had enough fuel, before Wing ZERO shot up from the ground and into the sky.

. . .

I almost fell from the sky several times on the flight home, nearly losing consciousness at the controls.

But I managed a safe landing in the old, abandoned hangar where were storing our Gundams for the time being.

It was a short, easy walk back to the safe house, for which I was grateful.

The safe house was silent, so that meant it was well past midnight. I shakily made my way up the stairs and into the bathroom. I pulled out the first-aid kit from under the sink and tended to my wounds as best I could... I'd have to fix myself up more in the morning, but for now, this would have to do.

I then lazily made my way into the bedroom that I shared with Duo. I stumbled around in the dark, collapsing onto my bed. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

. . .

I slept very late.

It was unusual for me to do so, considering it went against my training to be lazy, but I needed the time to heal and recover my strength. I had been gone for over a week, getting only a few hours of light sleep, and that final battle had been the end of my mission.

And so, it was late morning by the time I finally opened my eyes.

I sat up slowly—I vaguely remember waking up sometime around sunrise and properly getting into bed—trying to avoid the inevitable pain, holding the blankets tightly with both my hands.

I loosened my grip on the covers and gently put a hand to the side of my head... I had one hell of a headache, and most definitely a concussion. But I ignored the pain, like always, and tried to figure out what else was screwed up.

...I had several scratches and bruises, but those were insignificant. It felt like a few of my ribs was cracked and another was certainly bruised. I was in bad shape, but it could've, and had been in the past, a lot worse.

I nearly collapsed to the floor, unconscious, as I stood from the bed. The part of my body that I had long since been taught to ignore begged for rest, cried to let itself repair the damage; but I could not comply. I had to write my mission report for Dr. J right away.

But first I needed to rebandage my wounds and clean myself.

So I stood in the shower and let the hot, steaming water wash away all the blood and dirt staining my pale skin.

Turning off the water, I stepped out and carefully dried myself. I was extra cautious with the shallow, but nasty gash at the side of my skull; along with all the huge bruises discoloring my chest from the harness in my Gundam and all those injured ribs.

The pain was completely pushed away by now, so I felt nothing as I tightly wrapped my chest with thick gauze and bandaged my head.

Once I pulled on a clean set of clothes, I made my way back to the bedroom. I went straight to my laptop and began typing up my mission report.

Duo was lying on his bed, nose buried in some yaoi manga that he was surely too young to be reading. He hadn't noticed me, apparently... not like I had a problem with that; I was glad that he was keeping quiet for once.

And so I typed away, the only sounds in the room my fingers clicking on the keyboard and the occasional page-turn.

Eventually, I saw out of the corner of my eye, Duo rose, chucked the book under his bed, and left the room. He hadn't said a word to me once this entire time...

But like I said before, I certainly didn't mind; especially with that damned headache that was pounding at the side of my skull.

About two hours later, I finished my mission report—yes, it was that long; I had been taught to specify every detail—and I closed down my laptop. I made my way downstairs, to where the other pilots were hanging around.

Duo and Trowa were on the sofa, watching some anime where a kid from the future got stranded on an insane planet for exiled criminals—I only knew this because he made me watch it with him once. Wufei was on the floor, sitting against the back of the sofa as he read some old-looking Chinese book. Quatre was in the kitchen, and judging by the time, making dinner.

I didn't feel like waiting, or dealing with the others for that matter, so I simply decided to raid the fridge. It was something I usually did, so Quatre said nothing. I'm not sure if he even saw me.

I made my way back into the living room and sat on the far end of the large sofa. I didn't have any missions coming up, and I was still too tired and injured to start repairs on my Gundam just yet, so I figured a few hours of downtime and maybe a good night's sleep wouldn't hurt. Besides, the human part of me, locked deep inside, really enjoyed to watch anime once in a while... although I'd never dare admit it.

Time went by, and nobody paid any mind to me. It was strange, but I guessed that they were just trying to keep out of my way; I tended to be a bit on edge for a few days when I came back from a long, stressful mission. For some reason, though, I felt oddly relaxed... it was a strange feeling.

Later that night, I lie awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. I couldn't sleep, my mind too full of thoughts that I couldn't push down.

Nobody had even so much as said a word to me all day. Nobody nodded to me, talked at me for hours, asked if I was okay, hugged me for ten minutes straight just to show me how much they missed me...

Those thoughts made a hollow, empty feeling begin to twitch in my chest. I didn't know what this emotion was called, but I certainly didn't like it...

Duo hadn't even smiled at me...

Duo...

Another unknown emotion welled up in my chest every time I thought of him. I didn't know what it meant, or why I felt that way; just, despite what I always tell myself, I really do like it when he's around and being himself. He makes me feel safe, like I can forget my training, if only for a little while, and enjoy his pointless jabber.

I missed the sound of his voice. Sure, I had heard him talking to the others, but he hadn't said a single word to me.

Across the room, I heard Duo shift in his sleep, rolling over. He mumbled something incoherent before going silent again...

I sighed, sending death glares up at the ceiling.

Sleep never came, despite my best efforts, and I found that Duo was all I could think about. Not a single thought lacking him crossed my mind.

The sun rose, the start of another day...

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**did ya like it? please review! **

**and i'm almost done with one of those drabbles... i'll prolly post it as a fic all by itself tho since its gotten so long...**


	3. Unknown Emotions

**oops, almost forgot to post today XD**

**well, here ya go... **

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Chapter 2

Unknown Emotions

Today, I decided I had to get to work on my Gundam. Even though I felt just as dysfunctional as yesterday, if not more, I knew the repairs would never get done if I waited for myself to feel at least 75 percent again. Anyways, I needed Wing ZERO to be in battle condition at all times, just in case the enemy found us and we had to fight.

So, I was up, dressed and out of the safe house well before the others were even awake. Duo hadn't even stirred once while I had made my bed and checked my laptop for missions... it usually woke him up, even if it was just for a minute or so. But not this time...

I wasn't bothered once as I repaired my Gundam. Usually, Quatre or Duo would bring me lunch or just come to hang out, but not today.

This eventually got me wondering, thinking of possibilities as to why they weren't noticing me. I hadn't seen either of the other boys so much as look at me... not once.

Were they mad at me? Was it one of Duo's pranks? Was I acting like I didn't want to be bothered?

The thought to confront one of them crossed my mind, but I shoved it away. I wasn't going to show them that I was bothered by whatever it was that they were doing. They couldn't ignore me forever. Eventually, one of them would be assigned a mission with me, and this foolish prank would have to end.

Yes, that's what it was, just a prank. It had to be... in fact, Duo had been saying something about pulling one of the greatest pranks ever on one of us; I guess this was it.

So I left it at that and turned my complete focus back to Wing ZERO.

My Gundam really was in bad shape; it was amazing I had even gotten back to the safe house at all. Repairs were going to take longer than I had anticipated.

I finally made my way back home well after dark. I'd be returning to finish the work first thing tomorrow morning.

Duo was playing video games—it looked like some sort of first-person shooter—when I walked back into the safe house. I locked the door behind me and went to raid the fridge.

I then went upstairs to mine and Duo's bedroom. I checked my laptop for missions—there were none—then went and sat on the bed. I wasn't tired, so I got up and pulled out one of those yaoi manga books from under Duo's bed. Yeah—I liked that stuff too, but I'd never admit it to anyone.

. . .

When tomorrow came, I spent the whole day working on Wing ZERO yet again. No one bothered me; no one said a word to me.

When I came home later that night, I could've sworn I heard the other pilots talking about me, wondering when I would be coming back from my mission. But I quickly brushed it off as either part of the prank or my imagination. They already knew I was here, that's why they were ignoring me... right?

I shook my head as I made my way up the stairs to the bedroom.

Thankfully, sleep came easy tonight. I was lost to the world of dreams long before Duo came to bed.

But when he finally did, the sound of the door creaking as he opened and closed it woke me up.

I remained still, opening my eyes to stare ahead at the wall. He obviously thought I was still asleep when he whispered:

"Heero... I... I can't take this for much longer..."

So it _was_ a prank. And it was clearly hurting him to ignore me like this...

Deep inside, I couldn't take his silence for much longer either... I missed Duo.

. . .

It was around noon when I finally finished the repairs on Wing ZERO.

I made my way back to the safe house and went to sit on the sofa next to Duo. If he was ignoring me, then I guess it wouldn't matter what I did.

...Hopefully, me being near him would get him and the others to stop this prank.

But it didn't. He didn't even glance at me. And he pretended not to notice when he felt me sit on the cushion next to him.

I sighed sadly.

I didn't really care about sealing away my emotions so much right now, since it obviously wasn't going to make a difference.

Duo...

After a while, I retreated upstairs to check my laptop for missions. There were none... again.

Despite my still injured body—which was rapidly healing—I made my way down to the basement to our pitiful excuse for a home-gym. I hadn't been down here in a while, and I needed to keep up my strength... plus, it was a good way to pass the time.

Once again, my thoughts wandered.

This time however, I felt myself thinking of that strange feeling I always got when I was near Duo. It was a light, airy feeling in my chest that made me never want to leave him...

But that was...

No, it couldn't be...

Love?

Was that why his silence hurt me so? Was that why I missed hearing his pointless rambling all hours of the day? Was that why I needed him to be near me, giving me tacit security? Was that why...

Was that why I wanted to hold him in my arms and never let go...?

I... I couldn't handle emotional thoughts like these... it wasn't in my training.

I made my mind to go blank as I finished my workout. I pulled up my emotionless, 'Perfect Soldier' mask inside and out. I had intentionally forced myself into mission mode, just to keep away thoughts that I didn't want to focus on... was too scared to focus on.

I grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from my forehead. I made my way upstairs to take a shower and let the hot water ease my aching wounds.

Once I was done, I headed down to the kitchen. The other pilots were already eating dinner. I sighed and went to grab a plate for myself.

I sat at the one empty seat—mine—and stared intently across the table at Duo. He didn't seem to feel my gaze.

He talked to the others about mundane things, such as the video game he had been playing the other day, and the anime he and Trowa had been watching.

I stared at him the entire time; I even glared at him, trying to get him to look at me.

My heart nearly came to a stop as he finally glanced in my direction. But it wasn't me he was looking at...

It was like he was looking _through_ me, like he was staring at the chair I was sitting in. There was a sad look in his violet eyes for the briefest of moments.

But then it was gone, and he was back to carrying on, being his normal self... his normal self, minus pestering me...

"Duo, baka," I grumbled as I stood and went to put my plate in the sink.

_My heart can't take much more of this. _

That thought floated through my head as I made my way up the stairs to the bedroom.

_I... I need Duo in my life. I can't go on if he keeps ignoring me..._

That thought shocked me. I couldn't go on... without him in my life...? But somewhere, deep inside, a part of me knew that was true. The same part that acknowledged that what I felt for Duo was love...

I loved Duo...

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**ohhhhgirl! heero finally realized it! he loves duo! but if duo's ignoring heero, does that mean...? hehe i cant tell you.**

**i'll post that drabble later, i think. sorry! i'm just procrastinating and bein lazy... it'll get done soon tho. look foward to it!**


	4. Realizations

**me: *has nothing to say***

**heero: *glares***

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Chapter 3

Realizations

Another day came.

I spent most of the day in the Gundam hangar, simply because that's where Duo was.

No, I wasn't stalking him.

I just wanted to be near him, and so that's what I did.

So, for the majority of the day, I sat in Wing ZERO's cockpit and ran scans on all the computer systems. With the hatch open, I could hear Duo working, doing tune-ups and everything else that was needed to keep his precious Deathscythe Hell in top shape.

Eventually, he turned on the stereo in his Gundam, blasting some sort of heavy-metal music. I couldn't help but smirk as I listened to the lyrics... this was definitely his kind of song.

But then I sighed. I really did miss him.

But I had to endure. I had to wait until he was done with his prank and finally started speaking to me again.

I found it strange; I didn't really mind the fact that the others were ignoring me... only Duo's silence bothered me. Sure, it was a little different with the other pilots keeping silent, but there wasn't much change. The only one who really ever said more than two words to me besides Duo was Quatre. Trowa was quiet no matter what you did, and Wufei just seemed to have some sort of overbearing sense of justice that made everyone keep their distance.

Frowning, I climbed out of Wing ZERO's cockpit and leapt to the ground. I left the hangar, even though Duo was still there, working.

On the way back to the safe house, I wandered from the path. I needed to take a walk and 'get lost' in the woods for a while; needed some alone time to think things over.

As I walked, I drew my gun and checked to make sure it was loaded, even though I already knew for a fact that it was.

Eventually, once I was far enough away from the safe house that I couldn't easily be discovered, I sat down at the base of a tree. I leaned against the trunk, staring up at the dark ceiling of branches and pine needles.

But then I let my head fall, my chin resting on my chest. I felt terrible inside. Not physically; I was functioning at about 90 percent when it came to my physical health.

I felt terrible, emotionally.

And I didn't know why; I had never let my emotions get this out of control before... and now I knew why. Emotions were a nuisance.

But I didn't really believe that.

I let out a low growl as I sat there, staring at nothing.

With a frown, I pulled out my gun and looked it over.

Thoughts of suicide crossed my mind, but they were all under one condition...

If Duo never spoke to me ever again.

If Duo continued to ignore me for much longer, I don't think I'd be able to handle it. I think I was finally starting to realize how desperately I needed him to be a major part of my life... and I wanted to make him an even bigger part of my life. I needed him by my side.

Uttering another grown, I holstered my gun and stood. It was a long walk back to the safe house—I hadn't realized that I had gone so far out—but I made it back before it got cold and dark.

Duo was already in our room when I went in and checked my laptop for missions. Music was playing on the stereo.

He was lying on his back on his bed, reading manga again. He looked bored.

I sighed.

I guess I'd have to face it. I needed to say something to him; I couldn't endure his silence any longer.

"Duo," I said, voice a tight monotone.

He didn't reply.

And I didn't try to get his attention again... I couldn't bring myself to say his name.

Not yet, I sighed.

. . .

Another day passed, nearly the same as the one before.

Only this time, when I went to our bedroom to confront Duo, to get him to stop with this nonsense prank, he was pacing.

He looked worried, his violet eyes dark. His arms were crossed over his chest, and I could tell that he was lost in thought.

Eventually, he stopped, just staring out the one window in our bedroom at the darkening sky.

I took my chance.

I walked in front of him, not really noticing as his eyes continued to stare right _through_ me. I took hold of his shoulders, not really noticing how I couldn't feel him under my hands.

"Duo!" I said, shaking him gently, "You need to stop ignoring me! I can't take your silence any longer!"

His eyes wouldn't meet mine.

And then I did something that shocked me to the core.

I leaned forward, kissing Duo on the lips. I kissed him, and kissed him again, but not once did he return it. He stayed still and hard against me, as if I wasn't even there.

I took a step away, glaring at him. "Damn you, Duo! Why must you ignore me? What did I do to you?"

He didn't reply.

In fact, he turned with a sigh and left the room, leaving me standing there, alone in shock.

I was on my knees in an instant.

How could he...?

This was just a prank, right...?

He really could see and hear me, he just chose not to...?

I hardly noticed as my hands reached for my gun, drawing it and turning off the safety. I hardly noticed as I pressed the end of it over my heart, as my finger pulled the trigger.

Duo...

Blinding, white hot pain and heartache overcame me. I slouched to the floor; panting, whimpering and clenching shut my eyes. I was dying.

A moment later, everything went black. Oblivion took me under...

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**angsty heero is angsty. apparently duo doesnt care. for shame...**

**well, until tomorrow.**


	5. Not What it Seems

**sorry! i really almost forgot this time DX**

**well, here's the last chaper... well, i guess its more of an epilogue, but ya. enjoy.**

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Chapter 4

Not What it Seems

I awoke with a start, staring blearily up at the ceiling of my bedroom.

My hands instantly flew to my chest, clutching at the gunshot wound that wasn't there.

A dream...?

Had it all been a dream...?

"Whoa, calm down Heero, you need to stay still," that was Duo... that was Duo, and he was finally speaking to me. Finally...

"Duo..." I ground out, turning my head to look at him. I never thought I'd miss the sight of those bright, violet eyes staring down at me so much.

I felt his hand on my shoulder, a gentle touch. "It's okay. You're home now, you're not out on the battlefield anymore," he said calmly, smiling.

I looked up at him, confused beyond belief. But I hadn't been on the battlefield in days... not since I returned from that mission and...

"Since you had us install that new thing in our Gundams, remember, the thing where we could check each other's status while they were away on missions? Well I went to go check on you, and I saw that Wing ZERO's systems were all offlined... so I went to go find you. It was a disaster, your Gundam is practically a big lump of charcoal... but anyway, I brought you back here and I've been taking care of you till now. It seemed like you'd been having nightmares," he explained. I missed hearing his voice. It had been too long...

Nightmares...

So it really had all been a dream.

I had been dreaming that I was nothing more than a ghost to him.

Even though it felt even more real than this very moment, it had all been a dream.

Despite his protests, I forced myself up. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and held him close, not saying a word.

"Heero...?" Duo was shocked for a moment, his body going rigid. But then he relaxed and returned the hug, his arms around my waist.

I knew he was wondering why I was acting this way, so I spoke. "Please... don't ignore me anymore. Not now, not ever... I need you by my side... Duo, I love you."

He pulled away from the hug slightly to blink at me in a bit of shock. But then he grinned, "I love you too, Heero... I always have."

I closed my eyes, letting my body go limp in his arms. I was so glad that it had all been a dream, that none of those terrible things had ever happened. I'd never be able to go on living if the man I loved so dearly ignored me as if I was a ghost... I needed him more than I had ever known.

Thinking that I had fallen unconscious in his embrace, Duo gently moved me to lie back down again. But I stopped him.

Sitting up somewhat awkwardly, I stared at him, my face mere inches from his.

"Heero...?"

I took a deep breath, "Kiss me back this time, okay?" And then, before he could respond, I leaned forward, closing the space between us.

At first, Duo stayed still, shocked. But just before my heart could break, he returned the kiss, smiling into it.

I never told him of that nightmare. The empty feelings still haunted me for a long time, but as long as Duo was by my side, I could banish them from my mind. And it actually turned out, that that huge prank he wanted to pull was nothing like I had thought it was in my dream. Duo actually dared to steal all of Wufei's hair ties, along with everything else that could be used to tie up his hair... it didn't end well.

But as time went on, and I could detach my heart enough to think about that horrid nightmare, I came to realize what was really going on. It wasn't a prank like I had thought; they weren't ignoring me... they hadn't even known I was there. I had been a ghost. But it had all been a dream. And things were back to normal now.

And I guess you could say, as I pulled Duo close, kissing him on the lips; that things turned out a lot better than I had ever thought they would.

Owari

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**the end! **

**well, to clarify, if you didnt get it... heero dreamed the whole thing that duo and them were ignoring him. so, in this chapter he wakes up after duo rescues him and realizes what happened. when i got the idea, i was gonna have to kill heero and have it be like his spirit there, not that he was dreaming, but i came up with that. even though its cliche, its better than killing him. **

**so yeah!**

**well, i got a killer fic idea today, so i'll be working on that and i'll post it when its done. **

**so, until our next encounter...!**


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